Last week I decided to buy a whole pumpkin for the sole purpose of eating instead of jack-o-lantern carving. This concept is quite new to me. For as long as I can remember pumpkins came in two kinds: The kind you carve and the kind that comes out of a can.
It was actually my experiments with other winter squashes (butternut, spaghetti, delicata, and kabocha) that gave me the courage to buy a whole pumpkin for roasting.
I decided to roast it whole just like the way I do spaghetti squash. If you don't have to cut it in half, why bother?
So that's what I did, alongside a spaghetti squash.
The pumpkin came out great but unfortunately I overcooked the spaghetti squash. Note to self: USE A TIMER!
Anyway, I let the two squashes cool for a bit and then I cut them in half.
Since the spaghetti squash was so overdone, I decided to take the flesh of both and turn it into a soup.
Here's what I did ...
- Flesh from 1 small sugar pumpkin
- Flesh from 1 spaghetti squash
- 2 cans of chicken stock
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- ½ tsp kosher salt
Puree it all together and warm on the stove.
That's all you need to made a winter squash soup.
I tend to like mine thick, almost like baby food, but you can always thin it with more broth.
It's super yummy all by itself, but this week I discovered it's even better with a little cheese and bacon.
Well, really what isn't?
So I turned to my old friend Mini Babybel Light and my egg slicer. That's right, my egg slicer.
It hit me a few weeks ago that the egg slicer could easily double as a Mini Babybel slicer or cuber if you turn it and run it through again.
It works like a charm! You just have to peel a few of the chunks apart as the cheese tends to stick to itself.
It created perfectly sized chunks that melted just enough when they hit the warm soup.
Add the cheese and 1 serving (7g) of real bacon bits and this was a bowl full of yummy fall goodness!
No one in the house liked it but me but, whatever, they don't know what's good for them. Who doesn't like winter squash? Seriously?
I know this isn't the traditional "recipe" style I usually share but I never planned on posting it so I didn't really measure anything for the soup. That's why I'm skipping the nutritional info on this one.
However, the takeaway is ...
- Most (if not all) winter squashes can be baked whole. Just try 350 degrees until the flesh is soft to the touch.
- Most (if not all) winter squashes can be turned into a soup just by adding broth/stock and pureeing.
- Mini BabyBels are easily cut with an egg slicer and make great portion controlled cheese additions to things like soup and salads.
- Real bacon bits are a great way to add bacon flavor without going overboard. 7g is only 25 calories!
OK, now please tell me I'm not crazy and that winter squashes are super yummy because I can't enough of them but all my boys aren't fans. 🙁
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i love the egg slicer bit! very clever!
This looks so good Roni! I wish I would have read it two days ago when I had squashes on hand. I did make a wonderful soup, though. Butternut squash, sweet potato, curry and coconut milk and pureed to a smooth, rich tasting bowl of comfort. I honestly would have bathed in it if it was socially acceptable. I'll be trying a soup like yours next time.
Probably a dumb question but you don't puree the skin, do you?
Not dumb! Sometimes I do depending on the squash but this time I didn't. I scraped the flesh out.
This recipe looks too good to be healthy! Love this time of the year and taking advantage of all the local farms and their stands - healthy food and cheap!
I LOVE winter squashes, especially pumpkin and especially in pumpkin soup. But my favorite recipe uses cream and butter, so I'm looking forward to trying this one. The egg slicer idea for the Babybels is genius!
Yum! I love squash season!
Are there any benefits to leaving the pumpkin whole when you roast it ? I like to cut my squash in half before I roast simply because I find cleaning the guts and seeds (to save for roasting later!!) to be much easier before it is cooked. By cutting in half, or smaller, you can reduce the cooking time. Also, the fleshy parts that get golden brown in the oven is my favourite ! By leaving the squash whole, you miss out on this !
Nope. I'm just lazy sometimes. 🙂
This looks so tasty! The perfect thing for when the temperature drops.
I actually thought of you today when I took my roasted butternut squash out of the oven. I could have eaten the entire thing for lunch it was so delicious with nothing but a drizzle of olive oil and cinnamon. I remembered your butternut squash fries. I love winter squash except for spaghetti squash. It's a texture thing I think. I keep trying it though because I'm convinced eventually I will like it. Butternut is hands down my favorite!
Spaghetti is completely different than the other squashes so I can totally see that.
I can't wait to make this- squash soup is THE best! The egg slicer is genius.
I actually am one of those weirdos who doesn't like winter squash, except spaghetti squash. BUT, you are a genius for thinking to use your egg slicer for the babybels!
We can no longer be friends. 😉